Thursday, December 16, 2004

Another year is about to end and its a good excuse for a review, to look back and smile at the good memories and try to forget or try to improve (if we can) whatever was not that good.
This blog was born in july 2003 but during that year it was just a crying wall often abandoned to itself. By the end of 2003, the renaissance happened and as 2004 arrives, the tripping slowly starts to walk towards its initial objectives.
Tripping from blog to blog, I start to know and interact with others, I learnt a lot and I reestablished a more alive and updated relation with Portugal, with a Portugal that I like and identify with.
I choose the blogs to get updated on what was going on in Portugal, I no longer relied on the conventional Media but I instead, I would listen directly to those chosen by me and who were in the front line of the events.
I made virtual friends and some I will soon be meeting in person.
Along 2004, I posted different types of subjects, from political (mainly from Taiwan) to personal (I even cried here) and I opened windows to places that I’ve been and had great pleasure to share them with you.
A whole year of sharing, receiving and always tripping!

For the last post of 2004 (I know there's still a few days to go but I will be leaving in a few hours and won’t be posting until my return), I choose the photo that you commented the most:

The Tainan Twins

And as it was so popular, I adopted the Hollywood strategy and went off to look for the sequel. And I found it:

The Tainan Twins II

Nature never creates exactly the same, twice. Each of its creation is unique.
Sometimes these differences are clearly distinguishable and sometimes they are unperceived by our limited sight, but either way, we must always respect, appreciate and treasure them!

And speaking about uniqueness, I leave you one of my first comments published in the old Renas e Veados:

Normal is what one thinks that everybody thinks when one cannot think for oneself.

Never forget that each one of us is very special, a unique creation and its precisely that diversity that gives beauty to the world!

Monday, December 13, 2004

Thailand is often referred as the “Land of Smiles”.
These pictures taken at a primary school in Koh Phra Tong Island (1) is a vivid validation of this label.

(1) Koh Phra Thong, which translates as Golden Buddha Island, is an island off the coast of Khura Buri, Phangnga province, In the Andaman sea of Thailand, just a few kilometers from the Burmese waters.

smiles at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003

smiles at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003

smiles at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003

relaxing atmosphere in the classroom at a primary school - Koh Phra Thong, Thailand - Feb.2003

Singapore is a modern country built as any modern project: carefully thought of, planned, designed and executed all that supervised by the “control forces”.
Lee Kuan Yew, a Cambridge-educated became the first prime minister of newly independent state in August 1965 and governed Singapore until 1990 towards a great economic and financial success shadowed by its strict social order and the suppression of political opposition.
Singapore became known as the city of the forbidden.

Singapore’s population is composed by 3 main cultures that live in harmony side by side: Chinese residents numbered 2,311,300 (77.4%), Malays 423,500 (14.2%), Indians 214,900 (7.2%) and persons of other ethnic groups 36,800(1.2%).

When it comes to traveling, I prefer traditional, old, genuine and historical places to modern and cosmopolitan centers.
Singapore may not fit into my preferences but in recent years, there has been a visible improvement in terms of tolerance from the local authorities, which made life for the locals and visitors, less mechanistic and more human.
These changes, characterized by an opening of traditional mindsets, might have been influenced by the late1990s where in late 1998, unemployment doubled.
Slowly, with a visible openness, Singapore started to attract more tourism and the city-state is recovering.
And so last Christmas I choose to go to Singapore to enjoy this less expensive and new fresh breeze from a form expensive, stiff and rule mania place.

My favorite part of the city is the old China Town, where you can still have a feeling of the old days, walking around and looking at the wedding cake decorated buildings.
There are many boutique hotels that will give you a glance of Old China!
China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

My morning call in China Town - Singapore - December 2003

China Town - Singapore - December 2003

To tell you the truth, the real reason I went to Singapore last Christmas was the Snow, the ball:

PS. I was just informed that the Singaporean Police this year decided not to allow Snow in Singapore:

Is a ball where many people from around the region, get together, dance and celebrate the holiday season, against the moral of Singaporeans?
Why only this year? Is it because Singapore’s economy has substantially recovered and the authorities no longer need pink dollars?
And I thought that Singapore was on its way to become a fare state when in fact sadly, very sadly, the authorities’ humanism still seems to be driven by $$$$…

Saturday, December 11, 2004

And at the end of the walk in the park we were rewarded with an artistic roller-skating live performance.
It was impressing to observe how serious these little artists were into their performance!
boys with girls, girls with boys

girls with girls

boys with boys

...and the cool little skater who seemed not in the mood to perform but always in the mood to wander and joke around!